Trunk.



No. 700,588. Pateri oooooooooooo 2.

' .v wALsH.

l T n u N K.

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Patented May 20, |902. s. wALsH.

T H U N K.

(Application led Feb. 3, 1902.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

W/TNESSES UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BRAINE IVALSl-I, OF LANSINGBURG, NEW YORK.

TRUNK.

SPEGIIEICAE10N forming* part 0f Letters Patent No. 700,588, dated May 20, 1902.

Application filed February 3, 1902. Serial No. 92,293. (No model.)

To tl-Z whom, it' may concern:

Beit known that LBRAINE WALSH, a citizen of the United States, residing atLansingburg, Troy, in the county of Rensselaer and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trunks, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in trunks of the kind which employ slidable drawers adapted to be drawn through the front'of the structure and to thereby furnish means by which access is facilitated to the contents of the trunk in order to pack and unpack the same with greater ease and despatch.

The chief object that I have in view is the production of an exceedingly strong article which will satisfactorily meet the demands of the traveling public for a trunk which cannot be broken andsmashedunder the roughV usage frequentlyfencountered during trans-v A further object is to provide each slidable 'drawer with means for Vstrengthening the exposed front thereof and for also forming handles whichv enablel the drawer to be easily opened andclosed and which at the same time cannot be-broken or'injuredby rough handling- 'l l Y,

Further objects are to provide the drawer with means which will cushion the closing thereof and relieve any heavy pressure or the force of a blowY on thefront thereof, to pro, vide the drawer'withcovers;'which exclude dust and dirt from entering the contents of the drawer during transportation of the trunk, and to provide improved shoes for the drawer, which insure easy motion thereof, reduce friction, and prevent the drawer from binding in the trunk body or box.

With these ends in view the invention consists inthenovel construction, arrangement, and adaptation of parts, which will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a trunk embodying the several improvements of my invention and showing the lid in its raised position and one of the drawers in an open position. Fig. 2 is an elevation looking at the rear of one of the drawers, the latter being removed from the body or box of the trunk. Fig. 3 is a vertical section through the complete trunk, the lid of one of the drawers being open and the cover of the open drawer being shown in a raised position.

In carrying my invention into practice I construct the body or box of the trunk A of the generally rectangular form shown by the drawings and of any suitable size and dimensions. This body consists of the ends 5 6, the back 7, and a front crossstrip 8, all of which are secured together in'any substantial wayso as to form a complete body or box which is closed on all sides except the front. The body is provided with a bottom 9, arranged to have its front edge exposed at the front of the trunk, and said body is furthermore provided with a lid or cover 10, the saine being hinged at 11 to the back 7 of the `trunk.V

f The bottom 9 is provided on its under side with the battens12, which are strengthened at the side edges of the trunk by means of the metallic straps 13. (See Fig. 1.) Thehinged cover or lid 10 may be closed upon the top of the trunk and fastened to the body-A in any ofthe usual ways, and this coverfis also provided with exposed battenslfl, the same having metallic straps l5, as shown'byFig. 1, to reinforcetheside edges ofthecover.Y

The body or box of the trunk is materially strengthened and reinforced by the employment of the substantial partitions 16, two or more of which are provided within the trunkbody A. The upper partition 16 is arranged within the trunk-body so as to have its front ioo and are firmly embedded in the partitions,

which are made quite thick, as shown ,by Fig. The upper partition 16 forms a tray or compartment B in the upper part of the trunk, said compartment adapted to be closed by folding the lid or cover in a downward direction. The two partitions 16 form other isolated compartments C D within the trunk, and these compartments are closed on all sides except at the front of the body or box A.

19 2O designate the slidable drawers, which are fitted individually in the compartments C D of the trunk. Each drawer consists of parallel sides, a back, a front, and a bottom, all united substantially together and of proper dimensions to fit snugly within one of said compartments. The drawer 19 is arranged to rest upon and to slide on the lower partition 16, while the lower drawer 2O rests and slides upon the bottom 9 of the trunk. (See Fig. 3.) The drawers are each provided at their back walls 2l with the yieldable or compressible buffers 22, said buffers being made of rubber or other yieldable material and secured to the drawers in exposed positions. I have preferably fastened the buffers to the rear corners of the drawer, as shown by Figs. 2 and 3, and these buffers are adapted to impinge on the back wall 7 of the trunkbody when the drawers are closed, whereby the buffers operate to relieve the force of the blow or of heavy pressure on the drawer-front, because said buffers are adapted in the closed position of the drawer to rest squarely against the strong back wall of the trunk.

Each drawer 19 or 2O is provided on its bottom with the fiat metallic plates 23, the same being firmly secured to the drawer at the sides or corners thereof, as indicated by Figs. 1 and 2. Thesemetallic plates are adapted to form shoes to ride upon the partition or bottom of the trunk, and said shoes serve to greatly reduce the friction and wear on the drawer, to strengthen the corners of the drawer, and to insure its easy sliding movement within the trunk, so that the drawer will not bind during the service of the article.

In order to exclude dust and dirt from entering the drawer, particularly during transportation of the trunk from one place to another, I have provided each drawer with a cover,which is made in two parts or sections, as indicated at 24 25. The section 24 of the cover is somewhat smaller than the other section 25, (see Fig. 3,) and this smaller section isfsecured permanently tothe top edge of the drawer. The other larger section 25 has a hinged connection, as at 26, either to the drawer or to the permanent section 24:,and the drawer may be drawn far enough from the trunk to bring the hinged section 25 beyond the front of said trunk, as shown by Fig. 3, whereby the hinged-cover section 25 may be raised to the position shown by said Fig. 3 and fastened in such raised position by any suitable devices, thus permitting access to be obtained easily to the contents of the drawer for the purpose of packing or unpacking said drawer.

By reference to Figs. 1 and 3 it will be seen that the drawers in their closed positions are arranged to have the fronts thereof lie Iiush with the front edges of the partition 16 and the front strip 8, whereby the drawer-fronts cooperate with the partitions and the strip 8 to practically form a closed front to the trunkbox or body A. The front walls 27 of the drawers are provided with recesses 28, and across these front walls are secured the battens 29, the latter serving to strengthen and reinforce the exposed front of the drawers. These battens extend partly across the recesses 28, as shown by Figs. l and 3, and said battens are provided on their inner sides with recesses 30, the said recesses in the battens being coincident with the recesses 28 in the drawer-fronts. (See the illustration in Fig.3.) The coincident recesses in the drawers and the front battens 29 thereof form handhelds, which are partially concealed by the battens and provide convenient means forrnanipulating the drawers in order to open'and close them. It will be observed that the battens serve to strengthen the drawers and to partly form the handhelds, whereby the drawers are provided with handles which cannot be broken or injured during rough service or usage of the trunk.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings, it will be ob! served that the body or box is strengthened by the employment of the internal partitions. To further increase the strength of the trunk and enable it to better withstand rough usage or service, I have provided the series of battens 3l on the outside of the end walls 5 6 and the back wall 7. These battens are fastened to the walls of the trunk in intermediate positions or in alternate relation to the internal partitions 16. These battens 31 are preferably arranged to lie in coincident positions to the battens 29 on the front walls of the draw ers, and, furthermore, said battens 31 are strengthened at the corners of the trunk by the metallic straps 32, as indicated in Fig. 1.

Any suitable means may be adopted for fastening the drawers and the lid or cover in place. As shown by Fig. 1, the hinged cover 10 may be kept in a closed condition by a single lock. I prefer, however, to secure each of the slidable drawers in place by a series of locking devices, preferably three in number, as also shown by Fig. 1; but of course the locking devices may be modified and changed, as may be suggested by a skilled constructor.

Thetrunk-body may be made of any snitable material, such as three-ply veneer basswood, arranged for the grain of the veneers to cross one another; but the detail construction and the materials employed in the manufacture of the trunk may be modified as desired.

Any suitable number of drawers may be provided in the trunk, although I have only IIS shown two of such drawers. The trunk and the drawers may be lined with a linen fabric or any other suitable material.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. Atrunk provided with a body, a slidable drawer yarranged to be drawn through the front of the body, and cushion-blocks of resilient material secured directly to the closed back portion of the drawer, on the outside thereof, and adapted to strike against the solid back part of the trunk-body, said cushion-blocks extending practically from the bottom to the top edge of the drawer and said blocks at opposite corners of the drawer being of uniform thickness.

2. As a new article of manufacture, a trunk provided with slidable drawers, each having a batten secured across lthe exposed front thereoffthe drawer-front and the batten having recesses formed in their opposing faces and adapted to produce concealed handholds.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a trunk comprising a body having a hinged cover and a series of solid partitions forming a series of Witnesses: Y

O. E. ANDERSON, W. G. LEMPE. 

